Aly's Angle

This week’s #BeBetter52 Challenge: Breathing. Sounds pretty simple, but when you get down to it, I think we all forget to stop and take a breather every now and again. With two young kids, two dogs, a full-time job, and a husband who works primarily during evenings and weekends, I completely understand the need to take a moment to center and calm myself in the midst of chaos.

For a couple of years now, I’ve been taking hot yoga as often as possible, sometimes up to five times a week. I love the hour session that calms my brain. Doing yoga, and concentrating on my breathing when my mind begins to wander, has allowed me to apply this to my everyday stresses. When my kids are yelling at each other, or me, and I feel like I am going to scream, I focus on my breathing. When my husband does something I disagree with and I want to bite his head off (I’m human after all!), I focus on my breathing. When I am so overwhelmed with all of the activities on our calendar, and I’m schlepping children from activity to activity, I remind myself to focus on my breathing. It doesn’t always work – but yoga reminds me to seek the inner calmness and peace that comes with it.

Though I’m not able to participate as often as I’d like in the #BeBetter52 challenges, this one speaks to me loudly and clearly. Everyone has so much going on in their world, and breathing is a major element that can help you take a moment to put priorities into perspective.